A-1 (ASTERIX)

About This Satellite

Asterix, also cataloged as A-1, flew on the first Diamant-A launch from Hammaguir in Algeria on November 26, 1965. The experimental payload was intended to validate the launcher. It is best understood as evidence of a new launch capability rather than as a long-running Earth-observation or communications mission.

What France became the third country to do

The milestone was placing a satellite in orbit independently, after the Soviet Union and United States. This is different from being the third country to design a satellite. Launch-vehicle capability and spacecraft construction are separate achievements, and combining them into one ranking obscures the history.

A test payload can have lasting historical value

A catalog often groups experimental payloads alongside scientific observatories, but their success criteria differ. For Asterix, the central question was whether Diamant could deliver the payload to orbit. Expecting an extensive imaging archive from this record would apply the wrong kind of mission objective.

Mission reference: CNES Guiana Space Centre: Diamant and Asterix. Editorial review: 2026-09-12.

The launch was not from French Guiana

The first flight took place at Hammaguir in the Algerian Sahara. Diamant later operated from French Guiana, which can cause confusion when reading the programme as a whole. Asterix belongs to the 1965 Hammaguir launch, not to those later flights from the Guiana Space Centre.

Reference: CNES: Diamant launch-site history.

Do not substitute the science mission that followed

CNES distinguishes Asterix from FR-1, its first scientific satellite, launched on an American rocket about ten days later to investigate ionospheric radio propagation. They are different spacecraft with different purposes. FR-1's experiment should not be assigned to Asterix merely because both belong to the same early French space programme.

Reference: CNES: Asterix, FR-1, and the parallel scientific programme.

Reading this orbital snapshot

Based on TLE epoch: 2026-09-05. Estimated altitude ranges from 522 km at perigee to 1,623 km at apogee, a difference of 1,101 km. The orbital period is about 106.7 minutes. Eccentricity 0.07388 shows why a single altitude cannot describe the whole path. In a two-body approximation, perigee speed is 1.16 times apogee speed. These are mean-element estimates, not instantaneous measurements. Distance per orbit uses an ellipse approximation.

Saved build snapshot. If a valid TLE is retrieved, this explanation and the orbit panel update together. Otherwise this dated snapshot is retained.

Ground track is not sensor coverage

An inclination of 34.25 degrees implies approximate geocentric ground-track limits of 34.3 degrees north and south. This is a prograde orbit, moving in the same general direction as Earth rotation. The plotted line marks the point beneath the object. It does not represent camera coverage, radio reception, or a guaranteed visible pass.

Accuracy and missing information

The introductory record describes the build snapshot. The orbital snapshot explanation and orbit panel share any successfully retrieved TLE; check the displayed epoch. Reentered objects retain historical data only. Mission history is not rewritten by TLE updates. TLE/SGP4 positions are predictions and can change after maneuvers or updated observations. The 14-day stale-data cutoff is a display safeguard, not an accuracy guarantee. Local passes are geometric predictions, not a visibility forecast. No verified operator or mission status means unknown, not active. Do not use this catalog for collision avoidance or operational flight decisions.

Catalog sources: CelesTrak SATCAT: NORAD 1778 · GCAT: S01778 (source update 2026 Sep 4 2345:57). Supplementary metadata: SatNOGS DB, retrieved 2026-09-05T12:57:25.375Z. Page assembled 2026-09-15. GCAT phase codes describe trajectory phases, not mission health.

Learn more: TLE data · Perigee and apogee · Ground tracks · JOT (Jewawud Live Orbital Map)

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